Tuesday, January 26, 2010

My passion is dancing, particularly hip hop. I love to dance. Frankly, everything about hip hop culture intrigues me, but hip hop dancing has always been my number one hobby. I have been dancing for about 8 years now unprofessionally, and I am currently a part of my school's hip hop team. Ever since I first started dancing, it has become a big part of who I am. It has affected me on so many levels, and it still has a big impact on my life. Without my deep passion for hip hop dancing, I can truly say that I would not be the same person that I am today.

Over the years, I have always valued my talent for hip hop, however it was not until recently that I truly realized how much it has positively affected me. My passion for dance has helped me to fulfill several of the basic needs in my life, first and foremost being my self-esteem. Before I was ever introduced to hip hop I felt out of place. I did not have a special talent for anything in particular. I couldn’t play an instrument, I couldn’t sing, and I was never outstanding in any sport in particular. I felt like I was good for nothing. However, after I took my first hip hop lesson, my instructor was astonished at my abilities at such a young age. This truly boosted my self-esteem. I felt like I was finally good at something, and best of all, I enjoyed it. I continued to work on my techniques, and after my first performance at a school talent show, people began to recognize me for my gift. Up to this day, dance is still a major source of self-esteem in my life.

My passion for hip hop has also contributed to my needs for love and belonging. Over the years, I have met plenty of new people through the various hip hop teams and programs that I have been involved in. Many of these people have grown to become close friends of mine and are now a big part of my life. Currently, I am a part of one dance crew, called “D’ynamic”. We have been dancing together for around three years now and it is safe to say that the team has grown to become a second family to me. We share the same interests and get along phenomenally. When I dance with my team, I truly feel like I belong.

One significant lesson that I have learned from my experiences in dancing is that persistence and dedication is essential. This idea shows how dance can be related to life in general. For example, last year I was struggling to grasp the routine that my hip hop team was supposed to perform with. After weeks of practice it seemed like I had not improved at all and I felt like giving up. Nevertheless, something pushed me to keep practicing until I could grasp the routine. I refused to give up, and by competition time I was able to perform the routine without any difficulty. This concept applies to life, because to become prosperous in your endeavours, determination and perseverance is required.

My experience as a blogger has been quite eye-opening. At first, I did not completely understand the concept of blogging. I did not know why people devoted so much time to write about something on a daily basis that wasn’t required for academic purposes. I did not appreciate it nearly as much as I do now. After blogging for several months now, I have come to realize that it is not just another form of writing. It is a way for me to express myself and share my feelings with the public without being censored or edited. Also, due to the fact that I can keep my personal information anonymous, there is no risk of expressing how I truly feel and being bashed for my opinions. Overall, I believe that it is a highly effective way to communicate my thoughts with the public.

Over the past few months, I believe that I have undoubtedly improved as a blogger. During the beginning of my blogging experience, my posts were too formal and lacked character. I was too reserved in my blogs as if I was writing a research paper or an informational paragraph on hip hop. However, I eventually learned how to blog properly and what elements make a blog interesting to read. I began to share more about myself and my personal experiences with my passion, and as a result I was receiving better feedback for my writing. Even after the past four months as a blogger, I have not yet reached my full potential. I still have much to learn about blogging, and hopefully my skills will improve with experience.

One reason why I have taken a liking to blogging is because it has greatly helped me to gain insight into my passion. For the past four months, I have been blogging about hip hop dancing about four times a week. In doing this, I have had to research about it and truly analyze it from an intellectual perspective. This has helped me to formulate different opinions and ideas about hip hop dance, including my very own “rubric” or “criteria” for a good performance. In my research I have also discovered exceptional hip hop crews or individual dancers that I never knew existed before my blogging experience. In this way, I have been able to explore the many different forms of hip hop, as each group has their own unique style. Through my blog, I have also been able to learn more about the origin and history of hip hop, which I was not very familiar with prior to my blogging experience. These are just a few ways that blogging has helped me to gain insight into my passion and explore it in a different light.

Writing in my blog has definitely affected me in a positive way. Blogging about my passion for hip hop dancing has helped me to fulfill my needs for self-expression. Frankly, as a grade 11 student taking university courses, I do not have much time to get in touch with my artistic side. However, blogging about my passion has truly allowed me to do so on a regular basis. In this way, I find blogging to be a breath of fresh air, where I have the opportunity to share my love for dancing with the public.